An Act to Improve Affordability, Stability and Access in the Maine Child Care Affordability Program

Page 1 - 132LR2324(03)
STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-SIX
_____
S.P. 674 - L.D. 1728
An Act to Improve Affordability, Stability and Access in the Maine Child
Care Affordability Program
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §3731-A, sub-§3 is enacted to read:
3. Copayments limited. The department shall limit the amount of copayments
required to be paid by families receiving subsidies under the Maine Child Care
Affordability Program in accordance with this subsection.
A. A family earning up to 85% of the median family income in the State for a family
of the same size may not be required to contribute more than 7% of the family’s
household income as a copayment.
B. Copayments may be further reduced or waived, as determined by the department,
for additional populations, including, but not limited to:
(1) Families earning up to 30% of the median family income in the State for a
family of the same size;
(2) Children who are in foster care or kinship care;
(3) Families experiencing homelessness; and
(4) Families with a child with a disability.
Sec. 2. 22 MRSA §3731-B is enacted to read:
§3731-B. Copayment schedule
The department shall post on its publicly accessible website information about
copayments, as determined by the department pursuant to section 3731-A, subsection 3,
that must be paid by families receiving subsidies under the Maine Child Care Affordability
Program established in section 3731-A. The information posted must include, but is not
limited to, the sliding fee scales used to determine family copayments, estimated amounts
of copayments for families based on income and family size and policies related to reduced
or waived copayments. The website must use plain language and must be updated when
copayment schedules and amounts change.
APPROVED
MARCH 23, 2026
BY GOVERNOR
CHAPTER
587
PUBLIC LAW
Page 2 - 132LR2324(03)
Sec. 3. 22 MRSA §3737, sub-§7 is enacted to read:
7. Reimbursements for subsidies. The department shall reimburse a provider of child
care services provided under this chapter for subsidies provided under the Maine Child
Care Affordability Program established in section 3731-A administered by the department
pursuant to rules adopted by the department. To the extent allowable under federal law,
reimbursement under the program to a child care provider must be based on generally
accepted payment practices for private-pay families for child care, including enrollment-
based rather than attendance-based practices. Reimbursement based on generally accepted
payment practices must support child care provider stability and encourage more child care
providers to serve children receiving child care services under the program. In developing
the program, the department shall identify the practices common for child care providers
serving private-pay families and determine which practices are most important to meet the
goals of ensuring that high-quality child care providers participate in the program. The
department shall make a plan to align requirements for providers accepting children
receiving federal Child Care and Development Fund child care assistance to the practices
of child care providers serving private-pay families. The department shall examine
generally accepted payment practices regarding paying prospectively based on enrollment
and practices related to separating provider closure limits for holidays or vacations or to
compensate for inclement weather from child absence allowances. The department shall
adopt rules to implement this subsection. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are
routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
For the purposes of this subsection, "generally accepted payment practices" are practices
that align with the private-pay child care market in order to encourage providers to accept
children receiving federal Child Care and Development Fund child care assistance and
enable families to retain child care services.
Sec. 4. 22 MRSA §3737, sub-§8 is enacted to read:
8. Subsidy above equivalent private rate. To the extent allowable by federal law,
the department may reimburse a provider of child care services for subsidies provided
under the Maine Child Care Affordability Program established in section 3731-A at the
market rate established pursuant to subsection 4 to better reflect the cost of providing care
even if that rate is higher than the rate charged by a provider of child care for a child in a
family that is not receiving a subsidy under this chapter.